Performance Measurement Reporting: You Need A Plan

OK; you've identified key outcomes, drafted measures, built indicators, and collected some data; now what? Next comes reporting, and to manage that properly you need a Performance Measurement Reporting Plan.

Why do you need a plan to manage your performance reporting? Because one of the biggest challenges in implementing a real, actual, useful performance measurement regime is making sure the data is used.

When PRS conducts a
performance measurment gap analysis
what we usually find is NOT a lack of data; rather, the gaps occur in analysis, reporting, and usage of the data to improve planning, management, resource allocation, and decision-making.

These gaps in turn are often a result of unclear or undocumented roles, responsibilities and business processes with respect to performance measurement. Your Performance Measurement Reporting Plan is intended document the process of getting performance information in and getting it used.

You can see that the sample plan identifies the what, the who, the how, the when and the where of performance reporting to a fine degree. This establishes the expectation of reporting, and clarifies in everyone's mind that performance measurement is a serious management tool.A few key points to note about the sample reporting plan:

Opportunity for review by respective managers/section heads is built into the schedule. Every manager is expected to have reviewed results before coming together to discuss them.

A corollary of this is, the performance measurement review meeting is NOT the place to argue about the data - validity, accuracy, whatever. Questions of this kind should be resolved before the group session. In the review meetings, the data 'talks'.

Reviewing and (if necessary) revising the Framework is a different thing, and should take place on a regular schedule.

Like any other important management meeting, minutes need to be taken and decisions and Action Plans recorded. These should also be revisited at the next review session.

In our experience, actually embedding performance measurement in management practice is one of the biggest challenges in the Public Sector. Your Performance Measurement Reporting Plan is a tool to help achieve this objective.

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